May 14 20xx

It was a lovely day and quite hot. So some people had to stay indoors. Hope and her family though decided to go to the beach.

It was a nice family of three. Hope with her parents played in the sea until they were practically exhausted.

"Hope we should take a break now. Daddy is tired, and we can relax under the shade for now. "

" I wanted to play more.... but.... if you are tired, I guess we can"

She was pouting because she waited months to go to the sea. It was her favorite place, where she could vent all her emotions. Now she was feeling extremely happy and a little disappointed since she had to go outside.

But she loved her dad more than anyone, so they both went under the shade.

"Thank you, princess. Since you were a good girl, you can have this"

It was a big ice cream, her favorite - after the sea, obviously.

"Let's keep this a secret from mommy, or else she will take it away. We don't want that now, do we, little one?"

They both laughed as they nodded their heads.

Her mom, though, took a while to come back. She said she would go to buy food for everyone since they were hungry and tired.

Half an hour passed, and Hope finished her ice cream with her dad- It turned out it was a big one for a small person.

Hope's dad, Carl, took out his phone to call his wife, Ashley.

He called twice, but she didn't answer the calls.

He was hesitant to go look for her since Hope would be alone. He couldn't leave her alone.

He waited a bit more and right when he was about to search Ashley with Hope she came holding the boxes.

"Honey, I'm back. There was a huge line."

"Oh really, it must have been hard to wait under the sun. But where is your phone?"

She was looking for her phone inside her bag and then took it out. It was on silent, so she couldn't have answered the calls.

"Please be careful. I thought something had happened."

Carl was relieved that she was okay. They both went to Hope and ate what Ashley brought.

Hope wasn't that hungry since she ate the ice cream. But she took some food because her mom had been waiting for so long under the sun to get it.

She was grateful for it, but if she ate more than she could handle, she would get sick.

The sun was now setting, and it was getting chilly. They stayed until they could the sun's reflection on the water slowly fading.

Hope's parents started packing their things. Her dad then saw her that she sad.

"Come on princess, we will visit the sea again, I promise you."

She finally went back to her usual self. Hope was 9 years old, a child that would always smile. She was the sunshine in their house.

She was the light that hid the secret that would destroy that "happy" family. Unfortunately, not for long, even the sun sets , and darkness is revealed at some point.

All of them got in the car and started heading back home. Hope was worn out and doze off at the back seat.

Carl was the one driving, and Ashley was on her phone. She was typing something, and a small grin was on her face.

" Did something good happen, honey?"

Carl asked since he saw her smiling from the mirror. It was simply curiosity, but Ashley seemed flustered.

" O-oh, you know, Emily, my friend, I... I hadn't seen her in a while, and she texted me."

"You should meet up, I mean, if she is available."

She seemed, almost relieved. And again, after some time, the car was filled with silence. Hope, though, woke up from the moment her dad talked and caught a glimpse of her mom's cell phone.

And Emily-her friend - wasn't what she saw. Instead, there was a heart next to a name she had never seen before.

Still, as a kid, she felt uneasy, but she didn't say anything. She looked outside of the car window, and she could still see the waves.

The stars reflected on the water, making the sea shine. It was like magic in her eyes.

They soon after reached their home. Carl took all their stuff and went inside first.

"Make sure to wake up, Hope, and lock the car, alright?"

He said quickly since he was carrying their things. He wasn't confident that he could hold them for a long time and walked into the house. As Ashley was about to wake up Hope her phone rang.

BZZZ BZZZ

It was again the name along with a heart. She quickly answered the call, so Hope wouldn't wake up.

"Come on, honey, I told you not to call me first. What? Yeah, I'm still with the kid. No, he left, but he will probably come again to check. Yes, it will soon end, don't worry. I miss you too, I have to go now. Love you too."

Ashley cleared her throat and tried to wake up, Hope. As she was about to shake her, she woke up. She looked her in the eyes before acting that she just regained consciousness.

"Hmmm, oh w-we are back. How come dad didn't say anything."

Ashley didn't think much. Could a kid really act in front of her mother? The answer was yes, but how Hope could now continue knowing something that serious.

It was obvious by now that her mom was cheating on her dad. The unknown name with the red heart, the late night talk, she called him "honey" and said, "i love you."

That person couldn't be her dad nor her friend Emily.

Hope immediately got out of the car and ran upstairs. As she was about to go into her room, she bumped on her dad.

"Hey princess, why the hurry. Is everything okay?'

He asked her with a smile, worrying if something had happened. Hope just couldn't make this man sad. He was her hero, the only person she could turn to.

"I'm so sleepy I didn't see you, dad."

She forced a smile, barely managing to hold back tears.

"Aww, you are sleepy, okay, okay, go on sunshine, I will see you in the morning."

She nodded her head and quickly went into her room. She laid on her bed, under the covers, and cried her eyes out. She didn't know what to do, what if she ruined her family by speaking up.

Would her dad be more sad when Hope said the truth or Ashley?

She slept with those thoughts and with teary eyes.

It was daytime, and Hope rushed to the bathroom to wash her face. Her eyes were a bit puffy, but not enough to make her dad worry.

It was obviously a burden on her mind, a burden that was killing her from inside.

She immediately went down to the living room only to see her parents arguing. As soon as Carl saw her, he cut Ashley off.

He didn't want their daughter to see them fight - even though she actually did.

"We'll talk about this later."

He whispered to Ashley as he was moving towards Hope.

"Good morning, sunshine, d-did you just woke up."

Yeah... her dad wasn't the best actor. But something that bothered Hope was the fact that her mom, instead of looking upset, she was happy.

Like she really wanted to fight with Carl.

"Yeah, I had the best sleep."

She replied to him with a smile on her face. It really pained her to smile in front of him now. She was practically lying to him - that's what she thought.

Everyone moved to the kitchen to eat their breakfast. It was dead-silent, and Carl seemed absent-minded.

Minutes after a phone started ringing. It was her mom's, she seemed excited but tried to hide it.

"I-i will go pick it up. It must be something important for someone to call at this hour. "

She was practically running to get to the phone. It was clear who called her at this time of day. Hope wanted to start a conversation, so she just picked a topic that was important.

"So dad... in a year, I will start middle school. Do you think it will be hard?"

Her dad finally smiled.

"Oh come on, princess, not everything in life is easy, but I will tell you that. I will be by your side to always help you. I don't think you need help, though. You are a smart little cookie."

He ruffled her hair, and they both laughed. On the other hand, Ashley went upstairs to the bedroom.

"Honey, I told I would make the calls. Ugh, yeah, that man is such a burden, along with the kid. I started our plan this morning, we argued, but that brat interrupted us. I will call you later. Don't worry when that punk will start school. I will be gone. Bye for now, my love."

Ashley didn't love this family. She liked to fool around.

She made Calr think she loved him. She didn't have in mind the child.

It was just a game until Hope arrived in the world. She was the only reason that the family didn't fall out faster .

She finally decided to go downstairs, and she saw Hope and Carl laughing.

She didn't care about them. She now found a new lover, and they both plot against Hope and Carl.

She wanted to see them suffer since she always thought Hope as the root of her problem.

Her plan would actually succeed in a year when Hope would start her middle school.